I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth; lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thon wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap. where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed; thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have re ceived my own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which bath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance but from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into utter darkness; there shall be weeping and gnash. ing of teeth." MAT. XXV. 24-30.

On this parable of the talents, I observe as fol

lows:

1st. Christ himself is meant, by the servant who received five talents.

2d. John the Baptist is represented, by him who had two.

3d. The house of Israel is intended, by him who received one.

The mission of the Saviour, is meant by the five talents: The mission of John, by two talents; and the dispensation of law, is meant by the one talent.

4th. The law given to the Jews in the earthly character, is meant by the one talent's being hid in the earth. And as the house of Israel did not improve by that dispensation so as to find acceptance with God, it is signified in the parable in that the one talent was not put to the exchangers for usury.

5th. By the servant who received the one talent's complaining of his Lord's being an hard man, and the fear which he felt on that account, I understand the peculiar and disagreeable circumstance of those who feel the obligations of the law, without having a knowledge of the gospel, whereby the law is fulfilled; in which circumstance, men

often grumble at the dealings of the Lord, and call him an hard master, &c.

6th. The approbation which John, the forerunner of Christ and friend of the bridegroom obtained, is signified by the favors shown to the servant who received the two talents.

7th. The reason why the one talent was taken from him who first received it, and given to him who had ten talents by occupying the five; and not to him who had four, by occupying two, is 1st. Because the Jews would never have fulfilled the law, had they been suffered to possess that dispensation. 2d. Because John the Baptist was not able to magnify the law and make it honorable. 3d. Because Jesus the Mediator, in whose hand the law was ordained by the disposition of angels, did magnify the law in fulfilling all its divine requirements, took it from the earthly, and gloriously honored it in the heavenly character.

8th. That the house of Israel would be stripped of all which they put dependence on, is meant by taking from him who hath not. And that all righteousness, and the glory of salvation, would be given to, and found in Jesus, is signified by giving to him who hath, that he might have abundance.

9th. The awful state of gross darkness, into which the house of Israel was cast at the close of the law dispensation, in which we see them even at the present day, is meant by casting the unprofitable servant into utter darkness, where were weeping and gnashing of teeth.

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd di

videth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirs ty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer, and say unto them, Verily, I say unto you, in as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily, I say unto you, in as much as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." MAT. XXV. 31-46,

:

In this parable of the sheep and goats, I inquire, 1st. The time to which Christ alludes, when he saith, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory" or what we ought to understand to be meant by his coming in his glory with his holy angels; which to ascertain, I turn to the words of Christ in St. Matthew xvi. 27, 28. "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his holy angels; and then shall he reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not

taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." The reader will turn to St. Mark ix. 1. for another modification of the same sentence. From these scriptures, kind reader, we must learn, that the time of Christ's coming in his glory, with all his holy angels, was sometime in the life time of those who attended on his preaching. The ever to be remembered day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was sent in such a miraculous manner; when the apostles of the Lamb that had been slain proclaimed with flaming tongues the power of the resurrection; and with glorious effect preached the gospel of reconciliation to the conversion of thousands, was, undoubtedly, the time of Christ's coming in his glory.

2d. By his holy angels, are meant the apostles and faithful ministers, to whom Christ committed the treasures of his word, as unto earthen vessels. That the ministers of Christ are called, in scripture, angels, the reader will find abundant evidence in the divine oracles.

3d. By throne of glory, in the text, is meant the mediatorial office of the Saviour.

4th. By all nations being gathered before him, I learn, that all nations were before the dispensation of the gospel, in which he came, or that, that dispensation would pass in due time on all nations.

5th. By sheep, I understand believers in Christ, who hear and do his will; and by goats, the unbeliever standing in the law, or legal character. Christ himself sustained the character of the goat when he was made a sin offering, the goat being used for that purpose in the priesthood of the law. And while the sinner is in a state of unbelief of the gospel, he is condemned, and the wrath of God,

in the law, is upon him, by which he is appointed unto destruction.

6th. Right hand in the parable, signifies the gospel, or what is the same, favor. Left hand, intends the law, by which the carnal or old man is rejected.

7th. The sheep, or believers, are invited to the inheritance of the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world, which is also spoken of in Daniel vii. 18. "But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever." Again, verse 27. "And the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." It is farther necessary to observe, that these saints are judged in the righteousness of Christ, who is the Lord their righteousness, and they are the blessed ones to whom the Lord will not impute iniquity, but to whom he doth and will impute righteousness. These have been slain by the law in the character of goats, and are made alive by faith in him who was dead, and is alive and liveth forever more.

8th. The goats, or unbelievers, are addressed as follows: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels," &c. Here I observe, for the hope and consolation of the candid reader, that Christ once sustained the character of the cursed, when he stood in our law character, being made a curse for us; "As it is written, Cursed is every one who hangeth on a tree;" so the unbeliever being judged by the law,